Kellie Martin on No Paci? No Problem.
Submitted by Kellie Martin
Maggie had a pacifier from the time she was tiny—two pacis every night when she went to bed. When she turned 2, I was going to wean her.
Then, a week before we were going on a big trip to Hawaii, she bit through one of her pacis and she said, "Paci all done!" She bit through the thing! I didn't even know that was possible! And the funniest (or maybe worst?) part of it was that we couldn't find the top of it! (We eventually did, though!) So we just threw the paci in the trash and then we were down to one paci.
Two days later, she bit through the other one! I thought, "This is amazing! She's making the choice and telling me she's done with the paci." And the best part of it was, she was sleeping well, and going down fine without her pacis. It was a parenting miracle!
But then, the night before our big trip, it hit her and she decided she needed those pacis. She cried and screamed and had such a hard time going down for a nap and going to bed for the night. She wasn't able to soothe herself and she was so frustrated and so sad. I hated to see her like that and I really, really wanted to give her new pacis, but I didn't give in.
Then, one day at naptime, she just decided that she was fine. And ever since then, no pacis and no fuss.
Learning to soothe herself was something that Maggie needed to learn to do. So I'm so glad I stayed strong—as hard as it was for both of us.
Besides being a mom, Kellie Martin is best known for her TV roles as Becca on Life Goes On and Lucy Knight on ER.
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